Using Comprehensive Cloud Services for Medical Imaging
The merger and acquisition action in the healthcare industry is strong, which means medical imaging strategies are getting a fresh look across the country. Disparate institutions are now joined, and their technology doesn’t always match; in fact, it’s rare that it does, which explains the focus on correcting image management issues.
From department to department, the professionals will choose solutions for their imaging management that meet their specific needs. This can cause some issues when the patient’s information is required at a different department where proprietary viewers put up a roadblock. This has led to systems looking for a workaround, and many are finding it via cloud-based vendors.
Medical imaging software vendors are in demand for their enterprise solutions. But what if the patient has had their image exams at a different hospital? The problem re-emerges. However, when they go to a hosted radiology information system, they attach themselves to a vendor neutral archive solution, which is where many of the issues are ironed-out.
Easy File Management
When you find a hosted radiology solution, you’re able to work with all types of image files from various fields, including MRI, CAT scan, echograms, X-ray, etc. So, you could be in oncology and get a file from dermatology, or you could be in neurology and acquire a file from cardiology and there wouldn’t be a hang up when you use a VNA solution through a cloud-based image management vendor.
This works because VNA centralizes medical images and takes the compartmentalizing out of the process. HL7, DICOM, XDS and non-DICOM files are all workable across the enterprise and from one disparate system to another. As the user, you can pick your viewer or the HER you need to access and gain all your patients’ medical images.
Disaster Recovery
There are also disaster recovery and business continuity issues to consider when taking on a new image management solution. VNA really steps up in this area as well because you can create a consolidated image archive, which is replicated in a server that is geographically different than the first. Should a natural disaster occur in one area, the data is still available through the second or third sites.
Proprietary platforms are still being developed today and they have an audience, but increasingly, the preference is to move away from image silos. As more and more healthcare providers discuss VNA, it too has transformed and is being integrated at faster and faster rates.
At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we’ve developed solutions that will fit the needs of organizations large and small. In fact, we offer high-end technology that is so affordable, even the most rural clinics and hospitals will find some cost savings while upgrading their image management abilities. Let’s talk about your needs and how OffSite can meet them.